Ancient Rome

This Sunday, 24th May 2015, a 2,000 years old religious feast will be celebrated in a spectacular way: thousands of red rose petals will be raining inside the Pantheon from the huge hole located in the centre of its ceiling – what makes of it possibly the greatest of architectural wonders in Rome.
This occurs on the occasion of Pentecoste, the Christian festivity falling every year on the 50th day after Easter and celebrating the descend of the Holy Spirit on heart after Jesus Christ’s sacrifice (whose blood the roses symbolise as well). The tradition of the red rose petals dates back to the time of the earliest Christian communities, who used to gather in in the Church of Santa Maria dei Martiri, better known today, indeed, as the Pantheon… a name which betrays the pagan origins of this magnific cult structure.
The mass will be starting at 10.30 am.
For further info and details on how to reach it from Termini station (easy by bus) ask our staff at Yes Hotel!

A majestic cultural event will be running in the Eternal City until July 26th: Baroque in Rome a “multi-venue” exhibition which traces rise and peaks of the art movement which still marks so neatly the Roman skyline.
The event counts in fact on several venues all over the city center, each of them offering its own contribution to give vistors an idea of what Baroque age meant to Rome.
Below the complete lists of places:

Museum of Rome (Palazzo Braschi): exhibition; “baroque parties”

St. Yves at the Sapienza: thematic tour; exhibition

Oratorio dei Filippini: thematic tour

Palazzo Colonna: guided tour

Palazzo di Propaganda Fide: thematic tour

Vatican Museums, Apostolic Palace and St. Peter’s basilica: a special itinerary about Bernini & the Vatican

Doria Pamphilj Gallery: thematic tour

Capitoline Museums: itinerary across the baroque masterpieces in the

National Gallery of Ancient Art (Palazzo Barberini): itinerary

Academy of Fine Arts: conference

Castel Sant’Angelo: thematic exhibition on the baroque fireworks

Fondazione Roma Museo – Palazzo Sciarra: conferences

Not just painting masterpieces will be on display, as conferences, concerts, workshops for both kids and adults, thematic tours and many more satellite events will be part of Baroque in Rome. For more details don’t hesitate to ask our staff at Yes Hotel!

Rome is just about to celebrate the 2768th year after her birth. Public events will take place starting from April 19th, having their peak on April 21st: this is the date that, according to first century historian Marcus Terentius Varro, should be taken as the actual foundation day by Romulus in 753 BC.
The tradition to celebrate the fact goes back to the Roman age of course; after many-century interruption, it was rivived in1870.
A number of performAnces are scheduled, most of them by Gruppo Storico Romano, a society which has been looking after faithful historical reenactments (battles, plays, ceremonies, dances) for the past twenty years.
To begin with, on April 19 a parade of 2,000 customed “Romans” will reach Circo Massimo at 11am, after a fire-lighting ceremony fixed there likewise at 10.00am.
But it’s rigorously on April 21st, at 4pm, that the Tracciato del solco will be performed, i.e. the trench-digging ritual with which Romulus founded the city, legend says.
It’s not over yet. Mayor Ignazio Marino announced a couple of special surprises, such as the powering on of the Forum’s new lighting design by Oscar-winning director of photography Vittorio Storaro and, last but not least, an event to be enjoyed with augmented reality glasses.Yes Hotel will be glad to celebrate Rome’s birthday together with its guests: contact us for more details!

Breaking news recently came from the excavation works for the third underground line of Rome: 80 meters Aurelian Walls (3rd AD) never seen before were uncovered few days ago in the area of St. John Lateran’s basilica (i.e. San Giovanni metro stop, where future line C will cross with line A).
Archaeologists defined it an astonishing discovery as it pertains to a section of the walls which was thought to be lost centuries ago, and for which no records exist in scientific literature.
They were found eleven arches, two towers, and even traces of medieval painting (those walls served indeed as shelters to hermitsduring the Middle Age), plus a complex hydraulic system of the modern era (Seventeenth century) and slits for archers with visible amendments after the invention of gunpowder. What striked scholars the most is the perfect conservation status of the structures, resting for centuries just below the present ground level and so preserving themselves from air pollution and the modern age other transformations.
That stretch of the Walls was certainly buried in the middle of the Eighteenth century, when the area radically changed due to the restoration of the majestic facade of St. John Lateran’s basilica, and the Walls – they used to think – collapsed or were torn down.
Now they won’t be buried again: works are in progress to bring them all to light and make them one of the newest attractive antiquities of the Eternal City…
The archbasilica of St. John in the Lateran (one of the four in Rome) is just three metro stops away from Yes Hotel and it’s a must-see sight in Rome: ask our staff for more information!

15 March is known to history as the “Ides of March”, the day when Julius Caesar was killed. The spot where the general fell in 44 BC is putatively identifed with what is known today as Largo di Torre Argentina, a lovely square in the heart of Rome.This Sunday a few events will take place to remember a day which changed somehow the course of the Roman Republic.
First of all guided tours: from 9.45am to 4.30pm qualified guides will lead people through the ruins of Largo Argentina’s archaeological area. The tours will be both in Italian and English and will take about 40 minutes.
Second: at 12.00pm and 15.30pm a philologically rigorous reenactment of Julius Caesar murder will be set up in three scenes:
1) Mark Antony, Cato, Cicero, senators and tribunes have a meeting at the Senate and at end of it they declare Caesar a public enemy of Rome;
2) Caesar arrives to the Curia and meets the haruspex Spurinna, who had warned him: “Caesar, beware the Ides of March”. It follows his assassination with twenty-three stab wounds;
3) Brutus and Mark Antony hold a funeral speech to honor Caesar at the Roman Forum (the speech is taken from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”).
For the time of each of the two 45-minute reenactments guided tours will be stopped.No admission fee is requested to enjoy the tours and the reenactments!
Largo di Torre Argentina is at just 10 minutes bus journey from Termini station or walking distance from the main sights: ask our staff at Yes Hotelfor more details!

Rome conquered Egypt by its army, but Egypt conquered Rome by its culture. We owe to this cultural influence the still standing pyramid in Rome located slightly outside the beaten tourist tracks although not far from the core area. A strange story lays behind its construction. Roman dignitary Cestius wanted his heirs to build this unusual funeral monument in a very short time lapse, on pain of excluding them from his testament.
Some more pyramids should have been built in the Eternal City around the I Cent BC under Egyptian inspiration, but this is the only one survived, probably due to the fact that since the III Cent AD it was guzzled in the Aurelian Walls as a bastion, which contributed to prevent its ruin and devastation by robbers.Piramide di Cestio is one of the less known ancient monuments in Rome, and it’s certainly worth a visit, being so close to a couple of notable spots: the Protestant Cemetery (where big names such as Shelley and Keats rest) and – on the more mundane side – Eataly: the world renowned market for Made in Italy original food.

To commemorate 2000 years after Augustus’ death (the great emperor passed away on 19 August 14 AD) Rome had settled two majestic exhibitions which will still be running for some time even in 2015. The reason behind these long-lasting celebrations has to be found in the deep social and political changes that Augustus’ governance brought to the Roman domain, marking its official shift from the status of republic to empire.
The first of the two is mainly a colossal digital expo which, through the most sophisticated interactive technologies, offers a conceptual itineray developing across 4 cities formerly part of the Roman Empire: Amsterdam, Sarajevo, Alexandria of Egypt and Rome of course. Each of them is currently hosting a branch of the joint exhibit project called “Keys to Rome”. It’s not a random choice: visitors will approach Roman Empire history from four different points of view corresponding to the former four different corners of Augustus’ reign.
The second exhibit highlights instead the impact of Augustus’ rule on the traditional Roman culture. One of the most meaningful changes he introduced has to do with time calculation: he didn’t hesitate to add new festivities and events to the Roman calendar even for propaganda purposes.
We shortlisted for you few info on these two events:
– “KEYS TO ROME – THE CITY OF AUGUSTUS”, Trajan’s Markets, 9 am- 7 pm (Mon closed)
– “AUGUSTUS REVOLUTION”, Roman National Museum at Palazzo Massimo, 9 am – 7.45 pm (Mon closed).Yes Hotel is at walking distance from Palazzo Massimo, and at short bus journey from Trajan’s Market!

”To study how gladiators’ customs and equipments changed it means to study Roman society and the evolution of its military art”. Inspired by such a perspective curators of the ultimate exhibition on gladiators put on display more than 350 artefacts in the core of Rome: at Piazza Navona.
The reason for this location is quite simple: in place of the beautiful churches and fountains we nowadays observe, once upon a time there was a magnificent Roman stadium to host gladiators’ combats, known as Stadium of Domitian. The official shift from Colosseum as a traditional location for these public shows occurred when the Colosseum itself had to undergo renovation works already in the II century AC.“Gladiators: Arms and armors in the Roman Empire” outlines the history of gladiators’ combat art from its origin – when the gladiator was just looked at as slave-warrior – to its latest times – when the gladiator raised to the status of a modern celebrity.
Venue: Museo dello Stadio di Domiziano, Piazza Navona.
Tickets from €6.Yes Hotel has got direct connection to Piazza Navona through many bus lines: stay with us for a centrally placed accommodation!